Today we’d like to introduce you to Tricia Schwietz.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I am a Professional Ballroom Dance Instructor, and opened my first ballroom in 2008 (I was 23 years old). In addition to Group Classes and Private Lessons, I held Dance Parties and Private Events, including my good friend’s wedding reception. I was located inside Valley Creek Mall in Woodbury, next to Keys Cafe. Ace Hardware wanted to expand and take over my space, and I could not compete with their offer of signing a 30 year lease. So I moved, and then moved again. In my final Woodbury studio, I had food catered for my Dance Showcase, and somehow mentioned to the owner of the restaurant and catering company, that I would love to move to the Stillwater area some day; It would fit my clientele better (typically older couples with time and money!) Fast forward to the Covid shut down, he called me out of the blue and asked me if I still wanted to move to Stillwater! Living off my savings because I was self-employed during a pandemic, I couldn’t even imagine starting all over again. He said, “Without thinking about the money right now, let’s go look at it together. You want a bigger ballroom, and I want another catering kitchen!” So we met there, and I walked in and saw the biggest hardwood floor and most beautiful chandeliers. The entire building, inside and out, was outdated but had so much potential. I was exhausted from rebuilding 4 studios (in leased spaces) in Woodbury in 13 years, but thought… this is it! Fast forward to the end of December, and it was a deal! My business friend and his silent partners made it happen. My boyfriend at the time (now husband) is a Contractor, and my dance business paid him to do the majority of the remodeling throughout the building. My original goal was to buy my building partner out in 7 years. But I continued to put so much into all the remodeling, I wanted to push it ahead. I bought him out in less than 4 years! As of October 2024, I own the entire building with no contracts to use specific caterers or vendors. In between my husband’s contractor jobs, he continues to remodel our building bringing it up from the 1970s VFW to a modern day Event Center! I continue to teach Ballroom, Latin, Swing, and Country dance classes, as well as rent out our 3 ballrooms in our building for everything from birthday parties to weddings! We are a fully equipped Event Center with everything you need including a full bar, kitchen, tables and chairs, built in sound systems, microphones, A/V, projector screen, smart board, podium, stage, 360 spinning photo booth, large private parking lot, and so much more! Our current project is remodeling the far back set of restrooms to include a getting ready suite! We are open and ready to host your next event for up to 350 people!
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I never wanted to give up dancing, because we bring so much joy to hundreds of adults every week, but I wanted the largest dance floor in the Twin Cities, and be able to have live bands too! The only way my dance studio can have such a large ballroom, is by renting out for private events too, to offset the overhead. Luckily, I equally love planning and hosting celebrations for everyone! Sometimes we combine the two- someone will book our event center for an event, and also hire us to teach a dance lesson, DJ the music, or perform as entertainment! (My dance studio is called Dance and Entertainment Studios. www.danceandentertainment.com or http://facebook.com/danceandentertainment or http://instagram.com/danceandentertainmentstudios/
The biggest struggle of growing the event center was that my partner at the time was our exclusive caterer, but many of our potential rentals couldn’t afford them. They wanted simple restaurant food dropped off, with no minimums, set up, production and labor fees, etc. I lost a lot of potential business due to the food limitations. Now, we allow people to choose their own caterer or restaurant, and keep it as simple as they’d like!
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a Professional Dance Instructor, teaching 22 styles of Ballroom, Latin, Swing, Country, Line Dancing and Wedding dances. I occasionally teach for schools, but my regular clientele is adults.
I am an Event Planner! I help people plan their entire event in our ballroom. I have a lot of connections with everything from restaurants to live bands!
I am a member of the Stillwater, Oakdale, and Woodbury Chamber of Commerces, as well as other networking and Women Business Owner groups.
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
I am on my way to becoming the nicest event center in the east metro! With 3 studios in our building, we can host any type of event, from a simple business meeting, to a large wedding! We own our land and have the largest private parking lot of any event center in the area, and everything is on main level.
Pricing:
- Hourly rental available for each of our 3 ballroom: $100-$400.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.stcroixeventcenter.com
- Instagram: http://instagram.com/stcroixeventcenter
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StCroixEventCenter
